At Home in Malawi

Martha Pigott '06 proudly tracks the
progress of Project Youth Center, a
permanent community center in Dzoole,
Malawi, where she is serving as a Peace
Corps volunteer. Funded by The Brick
Foundation, the Center is scheduled
to be completed this summer.

When Martha Pigott '06
graduated, she'd already
had some incredible experiences
- an internship with a congressman, a
semester in Switzerland and an invitation
to join Phi Beta Kappa. But she had no idea
what life had in store for her next - two
years in Malawi as a Peace Corps volunteer.

"I didn't know a thing about Malawi when
I learned that's where I was going," she says,
laughing. "But after some research, I grew
more and more excited. I was ready to go and
ready for Malawi, so I accepted immediately."

Pigott is currently working in a health
clinic in Dzoole, Malawi, recording HIV/
AID S test results, distributing health
information, vaccinating children from area
villages, giving safe-water demonstrations
and checking children for proper weight.

But Pigott has expanded her role to
include development of a local soccer team
and youth club as well as fundraising to
obtain needed supplies for both, including
cleats, balls and uniforms.

"The best part of my experience has been
the local boy's soccer team," she says. "The
players have won two league trophies since
our start in September of last year."

Inspired by her dedication, Pigott's
brother founded The Brick Foundation
(thebrickfoundation.org) to raise money to
fund her projects. The charity was able to
send more than $1,000 worth of medical
supplies to the clinic in Dzoole, and in late
2008, the siblings began raising funds for
Project Youth Center.

Project Youth Center will fund a permanent
building to house an HIV/AIDS testing and
counseling center, library, office and recreation
center. Pigott, with help from local workers,
has laid the building's foundation and hopes to
see the project completed before her time in
Malawi is up.

In July, Pigott will return to the States and
plans to attend graduate school, but she knows
it won't be easy to leave her new friends.

"When you enter a program like the Peace
Corps, home starts to become a place you
never even knew existed before," she says.